Safe Schools Declaration

The Safe Schools Declaration is an inter-governmental political commitment that was opened for endorsement by countries at an international conference held in Oslo, Norway, on 28 May 2015.[1][2][3][4][5][6] The Declaration provides countries the opportunity to express political support for the protection of students, teachers, and schools during times of armed conflict; the importance of the continuation of education during armed conflict; and the implementation of the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict.[5][7][8]
As of September 2016, 56 countries have endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration, which remains open for additional countries to join.[9][10][11] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway is the depositary of endorsements.[12][13]

Drafting

The Safe Schools Declaration was developed through consultations with states led by the ministries of foreign affairs of Norway and Argentina between January and May 2015.[11][14]
Representatives from more than 60 countries attended the conference launching the Safe Schools Declaration, along with the Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende, Norwegian Defence Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, and Ziauddin Yousafzai the father of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.[5][8][15]

Contents and Commitments

"The impact of armed conflict on education presents urgent humanitarian, development and wider social challenges. Worldwide, schools and universities have been bombed, shelled and burned, and children, students, teachers and academics have been killed, maimed, abducted or arbitrarily detained. Educational facilities have been used by parties to armed conflict as, inter alia, bases, barracks or detention centres. Such actions expose students and education personnel to harm, deny large numbers of children and students their right to education and so deprive communities of the foundations on which to build their future. In many countries, armed conflict continues to destroy not just school infrastructure, but the hopes and ambitions of a whole generation of children."
– Opening paragraph of Safe Schools Declaration[7]

The Safe Schools Declaration describes the immediate and long-term consequences of attacks on students, teachers, schools, and universities, and the military use of schools and universities, during times of armed conflict. It contrasts this with the positive and protective role that education can have during armed conflict.[7]

By joining the Declaration, states formally endorse the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict and commit to “bring them into domestic policy and operational frameworks as far as possible and appropriate.”[7]

The Declaration also contains a number of other commitments aimed at strengthening the prevention of, and response to, attacks on education during armed conflict, including by: collecting reliable data on attacks and military use of schools and universities; providing assistance to victims of attacks; investigating allegations of violations of national and international law and prosecuting perpetrators where appropriate; developing and promoting “conflict sensitive” approaches to education; seeking to continue education during armed conflict; and supporting the work of the United Nations on the children and armed conflict agenda.[7]

Lastly, the Declaration is a framework for collaboration and exchange, as endorsing states also agree to meet on a regular basis to review implementation of the Declaration and use of the Guidelines.[7]

Endorsements

As of September 2016, the following 56 states had endorsed the Declaration:[9][10]

  1.  Afghanistan
  2.  Albania
  3.  Angola
  4.  Argentina
  5.  Austria
  6.  Brazil
  7.  Bulgaria
  8.  Central African Republic
  9.  Chad
  10.  Chile
  11.  Costa Rica
  12.  Cote d'Ivoire
  13.  Czech Republic
  14.  Democratic Republic of Congo
  15.  Ecuador
  16.  Finland
  17.  Georgia
  18.  Greece
  19.  Honduras
  20.  Iceland
  21.  Ireland
  22.  Italy
  23.  Jamaica
  24.  Jordan
  25.  Kazakhstan
  26.  Kenya
  27.  Lebanon
  28.  Liberia
  29.  Liechtenstein
  30.  Luxembourg
  31.  Madagascar
  32.  Malaysia
  33.  Montenegro
  34.  Mozambique
  35.  New Zealand
  36.  Netherlands
  37.  Niger
  38.  Nigeria
  39.  Norway
  40.  Palestine
  41.  Panama
  42.  Paraguay
  43.  Poland
  44.  Portugal
  45.  Qatar
  46.  Sierra Leone
  47.  Slovenia
  48.  Somalia
  49.  South Africa
  50.  South Sudan
  51.  Spain
  52.  Sudan
  53.  Sweden
  54.   Switzerland
  55.  Uruguay
  56.  Zambia

Reactions

Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown stated that "every country must now support" the Declaration.[16]

Leila Zerrougui, the Special Representative to the Secretary-General of the United Nations said that she would "strongly advocate on behalf of children in conflict situations to persuade as many other Member States as we can to throw their support behind the initiative." [17]

Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council noted at the Safe Schools conference that "10 years from now we will look back on this day. Those who endorsed will say ‘we should really have done this earlier’. Those who did not endorse will say ‘why did we not endorse it?'" [18]

References

  1. ↑ "Oslo meet pledges to protect schools in war". The Local No. 2015-05-29.
  2. ↑ Joe Humphreys (2015-05-20). "State urged to sign up to Safe Schools Declaration". Irish Times.
  3. ↑ Ulrike Scheffer (2015-05-17). "Deklaration zum Schutz von Schulen: Menschenrechtler empört über Deutschland". Der Taggespiegel.
  4. ↑ Maria Fluxa (2015-05-29). "28 millones de niños sin educación por culpa de la guerra". El Mundo.
  5. 1 2 3 "Rapport fra konferansen om beskyttelse av utdanning i konfliktsituasjoner". Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2015-10-05.
  6. ↑ Sean Coughlan (2015-05-29). "Campaign to stop attacks on schools". BBC News.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Safe Schools Declaration" (PDF). Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2015-05-29.
  8. 1 2 Roger Hamilton-Martin (2015-07-02). "Countries Commit to Protecting Education During Conflict". Inter Press Service News Agency.
  9. 1 2 "States that have endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration". Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  10. 1 2 "Safe Schools Declaration Endorsements". Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  11. 1 2 Børge Brende (2015). "Introduction by the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Børge Brende" (PDF). Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  12. ↑ "Endorsement of the Safe Schools Declaration". Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  13. ↑ "Letter for Endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  14. ↑ "Guidelines for Protecting Schools from Military Use:Next steps". Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.
  15. ↑ "Broad support for protecting education from attack". Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2015-05-29.
  16. ↑ Gordon Brown (2015-04-02). "Enough! The Attacks on Schools Must End". Huffington Post.
  17. ↑ "Statement of Leila Zerrougui delivered at "Side-Event" of Human Rights Council: Protecting Education from Attack". Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. 2015-06-24.
  18. ↑ Hanne Eide Andersen (2015-05-29). "We urge all governments to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration". Norwegian Refugee Council.
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